Dear friends, the Witty Herald is back, after a long break. To mark this beginning we have a post about the Cellars of Port Wine. Some might think that this cellar is located in Oporto, but it isn’t. It is located in Vila Nova de Gaia, which stands in the opposite riverside of the Douro. Although the cellar is more than 200 years old, it remains operational. So, this represents a good opportunity to try the best reserve wine and visit the historic cellar of Dona Antónia. Just for 5 euros!

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6 thoughts on “Ferreira, the Wine Cellar”

Since 1751, the Ferreira name has always been synonymous with high-quality Portuguese wine. The brand’s history is intertwined with the history of the evolution of the Douro Region (demarcated in 1756) and its Porto and table wines (Douro DOC). The Ferreira family patriarch – who already owned vineyards that subsequently became a part of the Douro Specified Region – started his business in the mid eighteenth century. However, the company’s foundations stem from the actions of his grandsons, José Bernardo and António Bernardo in the early nineteenth century, when they added considerably to the land they had inherited.

The marriage between their offspring, cousins António Bernardo II and Antónia Adelaide, would, in the next generation, consolidate a unique heritage and indelibly mark Ferreira’s future. Twice widowed, Dona Antónia did not merely manage an inheritance. She took over the business at 33, strengthening and expanding it thanks to her entrepreneurial spirit and charisma. She is still remembered in Portugal for her sound business ethics and as an example of good practice. Endowed with exceptional energy and a rare commercial talent, she gave great impetus to wine-growing in Douro and was well-known for her acts of social welfare in the region. Her intelligence and kindness earned her the warm admiration of her contemporaries, who affectionately nicknamed her “Ferreirinha” (little Ferreira)…